Mallarmé on fashion
Subtitle: a translation of the fashion magazine, La dernière mode, with commentary
By: P.N. Furbank and Alex Cain.
Contributors: Furbank, Philip Nicholas.; Cain, Alex M.
Publisher: Berg; Berg Publishers
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 221
Subjects: Fashion.
Other titles: Dernière mode.
Description: In 1874, Stephane Mallarme, the great French poet, undertook a highly idiosyncratic project--the publication of a fashion magazine called La Derniere Mode (The Latest Fashion)--that he almost single-handedly compiled. Using a variety of feminine and masculine pseudonyms to theorize about fashion and to advise on popular vacation destinations, home furnishings, and entertainment, Mallarmé created a spectacularly original work. The distinguishing feature of Mallarme's magazine is that it explores the nature of fashion from the inside. While it is a genuine fashion magazine, it also satirizes the entire genre. Various theories have been entertained about the work: it has been viewed as a prose poem, a hoax, and a cynical money-making venture. Furbank and Cain, however, argue that such guesses are hopelessly off the mark. Complete with the original artwork and a contextualizing introduction and commentary, this is the definitive translation of one of French literature's greatest enigmas.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Articles contributed by Mallarmé to the fashion magazine La Dernière mode.